From Within is a good, nasty little horror picture about a mysterious rash of apparent suicides in a small town setting. The ingeniously twisted script, by Brad Keane, involves an occult spell that is used to punish some judgemental fundamentalists for the consequences of their superstitious paranoia, which is just the kind of logical inconsistency that makes for classic nightmares. The direction, by Phedon Papamichael provides some rude jolts but is more heavily paced than it needs to be and could stand some leavening of humor; Elizabeth Rice is very appealing as the rational-minded teenage heroine, but movie's tone is very much in sync with its young male lead, Thomas Dekker, who (as in the Terminator TV series) is so monotonously, grimly intense that you'd almost pay to see him tickled by professionals. Still, the picture holds you, and its vicious streak is played all the way out to the end, which delivers a surprising kick. From Within will be best appreciated by those who like their horror movies without milk, cream, or sugar.
